Brainstorming plots

by Alan De Smet

Look to writing tips

Tips for writing books, short stories, movies, or television shows often directly apply to writing role-playing game stories.

I find David Siegel's writings about film to be an interesting way of thinking about plots. It's oriented toward film, but the lessons of "The Two-Goal Structure" and "The Nine-Act Structure" apply to most role-playing games. Sadly, Siegel has taken his writings down, so I've had to use the Internet Archive. Worse, he set up his pages strangely, so none of the links work. So, here's all of the pages in "The Nine-Act Structure:" Introduction, act 0, act 1, act 2, act 3, act 4, act 5, act 6, act 7, and act 8.

"The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations" a useful place to start a skeleton of a plot. On a role-playing specific front S. John Ross distills RPG plots down into "The Big List of RPG Plots."

Take ideas from elsewhere

Seek inspiration from media: books, movies, television, whatever. If you know of a television series that is relevant, you may be able to find an episode guide of summaries. Pay attention to apparently unrelated things. The premise of the Area 51 video game (fighting into a facility to set off a nuclear weapon to stop an alien infiltration) gave me some interesting ideas for a steampunk western game.

Mix things up

When all else fails, mix things up. Two simple plots mixed together, even if the plots are completely unrelated, can create a complex and entertaining story.

Do Tarot reading

Serious Tarot card readings are silly, but they can be a useful brainstorming techniques. Traditional Tarot cards work great. Everway comes with it's own Tarot-style deck and a great set of "vision cards". D&D's Tarokka deck serves a similar purpose.

Don't worry too much about doing an official reading, you're just trying to get your brain thinking in new directions. Simply ask questions and draw cards. Traditional Tarot readings provide some useful questions (what is the past, the present, and the future), but ask whatever questions are useful. Some suggestions:

• What is the problem?
• What is the history of the problem?
• What is the best possible future?
• What is the worst possible future?
• Who or what is the source of the problem?
• What complication will the PCs encounter?
• Who or what can help the PCs?
• What is the theme of the story?

To interpret the cards keep your mind as open as possible. Consider both the traditional meanings and whatever comes to mind. While it is certainly understandable to interpret Death as meaning, well, death, it's useful to keep in mind that it traditionally indicates change. Reversed (when drawn upside down), it can be lack of change, stasis. Look at the art an ask questions about it. Try to form a story about the image and look for themes and conflicts in the story. Some examples, all drawn from the Rider Waite Tarot deck, one of the most traditional:

• Ten of Swords - A man lies in the road, stabbed in the back; was he betrayed? The man was stabbed with ten blades; was he betrayed by a group? The suit of swords typically signifies air and menial efforts; maybe an airborne foe, or maybe a mundane foe.

• Two of Wands - A man looks out over the sea. Is he waiting for his ship to come in? Is he seeing loved ones off? Is he watching for an ill omen or an undesired visitor? The man holds a staff, is he preparing for a journey or a fight? The suit of wands traditionally represents fire and careers; does that mean anything?

• Death - Death traditionally represents change. Here Death rides a horse and carries a banner. Does the change come from afar? Is the banner the banner of a peaceful diplomat arriving, or the arrival of an army?

You may find some traditional Tarot card imagery and interpretations at Mystic Games or Paranormality.com useful, but don't limit yourself to the ideas of others. You can get computer generated Tarot readings here; one advantage of this site is the variety of decks available. For more traditional art select the Rider Waite deck. If you're working on a horror story, the Lovecraft deck might be more to your liking.